Herds of cows on British farms have killed 74 people in the past 15 years, new figures show, making them at least twice as dangerous as dogs. Farmers have been instructed to make their land safer to avoid further deaths.

According to new data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 18 victims of attacks by cows were members of the public, with the remaining 56 people farmworkers.

Of the 18 non-farmer victims, two were over 60 and four incidents took place during the summer of 2015.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) distributed information urging dog-walkers to let their pets run away if a cow charges to protect themselves.